THE danger of anxiety infecting football teams is that the condition can feed upon itself. Good managers try to break the cycle.

Ray Mathias made an interesting response to the attack of promotion-chasing jitters that hijacked the final quarter hour of Tranmere's valuable victory over Chesterfield on Saturday - he ignored them.

Tranmere's smooth progress towards securing the all-important prize of three points became distinctly wobbly after Chesterfield front-man David Reeves halved the two-goal advantage of the home side with a 78th minute strike.

The Prenton Park faithful then had their hearts in their mouths on a couple of occasions as goalmouth scrambles threatened to deliver an equaliser for the visitors.

Mathias may well have been feeling as apprehensive as the crowd during this period but when the players reached the dressing room after the final whistle the manager's first words were something like: "That was a great win, lads. Well done."

Later, when pressed to discuss those nervy final 15 minutes of the game, Mathias explained: "I don't want to say too much because I don't want to trouble the lads.

"They put in a good performance today and got us the win which was the most important thing. I'm delighted with the three points."

By declining to dwell on the uncomfortable finale, Mathias and his coaching staff appear to be attempting to lighten the psychological burden Tranmere take into the next high stakes engagement at Luton next weekend.

That seems to make a great deal of sense in a situation in which there is pressure enough on Tranmere. They need, to make up four points on QPR in the six remaining games of the division two campaign to claim a place in the play-offs.

It is also pertinent to reflect that in the first 78 minutes of this contest, Tranmere's football was little troubled by anxiety.

Enjoying the benefits of a flat, well-grassed pitch - a welcome contrast to the pitted pile of hardened mud they encountered at Peterborough the previous week - Tranmere established themselves as the more cohesive team.

If not a feast of football, the game was a lot better than the ugly draws Tranmere played out at Barnsley and Peterborough during the previous week.

Chesterfield, deploying three giants in central defence and packing the midfield, did their best to cramp Tranmere's style down the flanks. But they were undone by well-constructed goals from debutant Iain Anderson and Iain Hume.

Winger Anderson, who spoke about his hunger for goals after signing on loan from Preston on Thursday, was as good as his word.

Chesterfield's row of towering centre-backs were flumoxed first by Simon Haworth's swiftly delivered low cross from the left-hand edge of the penalty area, then by Hume's dummy in allowing the ball to run under his feet and on to Anderson 12 yards from goal.

The Scot dispatched his left-foot shot a split second before a defender could make a blocking tackle, and goalkeeper Andy Richmond could only caress the ball on its way into the bottom corner of the net.

The second goal was even better, a handsome reward for building attacks from the back when opportunities allow.

Just such an opportunity occurred when goalkeeper John Achterberg's accurate throw sent Shane Nicholson galloping into clear space down the left flank.

Nicholson played the forward pass inside to Hume early, so the teenager had the space to collect the ball, turn and run at the middle man of Chesterfield's retreating defenders, the giant bald-headed Steve Blatherwick.

With his electric pace, Hume might have fancied his chances of going past the defender but he chose to let fly from just over 20 yards and hit the jackpot with a shot that hurtled past the dive of Richmond and billowed into the netting in the top right- hand corner of goal.

Tranmere were not only comfortably ahead at this stage, they looked comfortably in charge.

Chesterfield's threat as an attacking force had been limited. They created one clear-cut chance during a period of pressure midway through the first half when Glynn Hurst met a sharp cross from Reeves with a first-time volley over the bar from eight yards.

But the danger signals began to flash for Tranmere on 71 minutes when midfielder Mark Hudson burst into the penalty area and drove a shot straight into Achterberg's midriff.

Seven minutes later, skipper Steve Payne's low cross from the by-line on the left was tucked away by Reeves from ten yards. But Tranmere defended well enough to ensure Chesterfield did not fashion another clear-cut chance.